


Criminals (beware the spider)

by LittleMissAgrafina



Series: Comfortember 2020 [8]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Revenge, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, but also not really, misha-moose-dean-burger-lover's Angsty-Angst Week, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissAgrafina/pseuds/LittleMissAgrafina
Summary: Ben had been dead for a year now and instead of being sad, instead of crying and feeling that well of emptiness inside of him give way, all he felt was anger.That anger was at the world, at guns, and at spiders. At himself. If he had been better, if he hadn't fought with Ben and ran out. If he hadn't ignored the corner store robber, or the irritating buzzing at the back of his head… then Ben would still be alive.There it was. Ben would still be alive. The million dollar sentence and the ground for Peter's resentment, both to himself and the robber, the man with the star tattoo.The resentment was Peter's greatest secret.OrPeter goes after Ben's killer, realises what he is is thinking, and calls Tony to come and fetch him.---Comfortember Day 9. Confession + Day 10. Crying
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Comfortember 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995808
Comments: 10
Kudos: 88
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	Criminals (beware the spider)

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a little different but I like it.  
> I'm going to give a little rundown up here about a couple things here so no one is accidentally triggered or anything.
> 
> SPOILERS: Peter gets angry on the anniversary of Ben. During his patrol, he asks Karen to run a search for Ben's killer (Dennis Carradine from the Tobey Maguire movies. We're just ignoring spiderman 3 where it's revealed that sandman actually did it). Peter tracks him down and follows him. He finds himself thinking of killing Carradine and panics and calls Tony to come and fetch him before he does something he'll regret.
> 
> END OF SPOLIERS!
> 
> Anyway, I hope that you guys like it! Lemme know what you think!

Peter was angry and he despised it. He hated how his rage grew, how it simmered and burned around the edges of his mind, of his heart.

  
  


He felt anger and it scared him, terrified him, because it felt  _ wrong. _ It wasn't how he was supposed to be. Supposed to feel.

  
  


Ben had been dead for a year now and instead of being sad, instead of crying and feeling that well of emptiness inside of him give way, all he felt was anger.

  
  


That anger was at the world, at guns, and at spiders. At  _ himself. _ If he had been better, if he hadn't fought with Ben and ran out. If he hadn't ignored the corner store robber, or the irritating buzzing at the back of his head… then Ben would still be alive.

  
  


There it was.  _ Ben would still be alive. _ The million dollar sentence and the ground for Peter's resentment, both to himself and the robber, the man with the star tattoo.

  
  


The resentment was Peter's greatest secret. He had never told anyone how he felt about that night, had never really spoken about it at all.

  
  


Which was why when May and Tony asked if Peter wanted to take a break from patrolling on  _ The Day _ , it wasn't because of his anger or hate. No, it was because of his sadness and the broken place inside of him.

  
  


They didn't know that those reasons were one and the same.

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


Peter suited up and went on patrol anyway, using the excuse that he needed the time and space it would provide.

  
  


Halfway through one of his routes, Peter slowed and swung himself up on an abandoned roof. "Karen, can you do a search for someone? I don't have anything other than a physical description."

  
  


"I can, Spider Boss. Describe what you know and I can sync it up with the city's databases. Please note that due to the Blue Doughnut protocol, I will have to alert Mr. Stark if your search concludes a match that has results containing heavy offences."

  
  


Peter gave the affirmative and listed what he remembered. He knew that Star Tattoo didn't have anything on his records so Tony wouldn't get an alert. The police never bothered trying to find the man. Had given up just days after Ben's murder, a manila envelope with Star Tattoo's records showing only suspected criminal activity but no actual arrests or prosecution.

  
  


They had done nothing while an innocent man was laid to rest in a grave next to his brother and sister in law.

  
  


It was time that Peter took another part of the NYPD's job into his own hands.

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


A blond man walked down a dirty alley, the concrete wet and shiny from the recent rainfall.

  
  


He was unaware of the red and blue figure that loomed above him, perched on the edge of the building looming over the man. He didn't know of the anger, hate, and resentment boiling the vigilante sitting just feet away.

  
  


Peter relished it. The lack of awareness from the man would make it easy. He could be webbed in seconds, a few strands placed strategically to web his mouth closed or to pull his neck to the side and–

  
  


Nausea crawled up his throat, stomach twisting and lurching. Frantically scrabbling with his mask, Peter turned and yanked it over his nose just in time to throw up the remnants of his meager lunch, having skipped dinner earlier. This anger, this bloodlust wasn't him. What he had thought of, what he had  _ contemplated _ … 

  
  


It fucking terrified him.

  
  


He had Tony on the phone in the next second.

  
  


"Please come get me."

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


Peter leaned hunched over, his elbows on his bouncing knees and his fingers laced together as he tried to stop twitching and pulling at them.

  
  


Warm, rough hands settled over his own. Peter lifted his head and saw Tony who was still sitting in front of him, as quiet and reassuring as he had been through Peter's choked explanation.

  
  


"How are you so calm?" Peter whimpered. "Why aren't you angry? What aren't you fighting or taking my suit?" There was desperation and confusion in Peter's voice.

  
  


"I just told you that I wanted someone dead, that I wanted to do it myself. I'm fucked up, Tony!" Peter sobbed now, his breath hitching and his mind racing. He didn't understand why Tony wasn't telling him that he hated him or that he couldn't be Spider-Man anymore because  _ how could Spider-Man want someone dead. _

  
  


Tony squeezed the hands he had wrapped around Peter's own hands. "You are not fucked up, Peter. You are human and you have gone through and endured so much more than a lot of grown ass adults eever could. You were and still are angry and resentful, but you are also sad and lost. You went after the cause of that because you didn't know how else to deal with it."

  
  


Peter met Tony's eyes properly for the first time since he started telling the man what he had done and what I had almost done. He only saw sincerity in the man's brown eyes.

  
  


"You wanna know why I'm not angry or taking your suit? It's because I'm not any of what you think I'm supposed to be right now. I'm not angry, I'm not disappointed, I'm just Tony. You didn't do what so temptingly crossed your mind, you didn't take the revenge that a part of you so craved and I'm so proud of you, Peter."

  
  


Peter shook his head, he still couldn't understand it. "But I still thou–"

  
  


"Yes, but you didn't  _ do it,  _ Kid. You didn't and that is enough for me. Your heart is still yours and I'm so proud of you for not giving in to the ideas that you had."  _ You have no idea how proud. _

  
  


Peter leant forward and Tony opened his arms to hug him close. "Thank you for not hating me." The teenager whispered.

  
  


"I could never hate you."

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


Dennis Carradine walked out of the entrance on the other side of the alley, never knowing that the consequences of his actions just the year before had so nearly caught up with him. And he didn't know that they soon would, in the way of video evidence coming to light from an anonymous tipper.

  
  


Peter Parker walked away with his heart still whole. It was fractured in places, but those empty slivers were slowly being mended with gold instead of the black that they had come so close to being filled with instead.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, I'm going to be editing and reposting these a day or two after the og posting once my beta/s have had time to edit and check them over for me. There won't be massive changes I don't think but I just wanted to put it out there lol


End file.
